Amid a flood of headlines from Washington, D.C., it can be difficult to keep track of what your elected officials are doing in the nation’s capital. For Kansans looking to keep in touch with their representatives in Washington, The Beacon created a quick contact list that includes the information you need to know. Kansas now […]
How to contact your representatives in Washington, D.C., if you live in Kansas
Posted inState Government
Lawmakers debate whether voters should elect Kansas Supreme Court justices
Robert Edmunds won three judicial elections in his home state of North Carolina. He was elected to the state Court of Appeals before serving two terms on the state’s Supreme Court. Edmunds said he never would have risen through the ranks without elections. He didn’t have any political connections to the governor. He didn’t run […]
Posted inState Government
Kansas lawmakers offer dueling ideas on property tax relief
Debbie Detmer has a lot of memories in her house. She’s lived there 40 years and raised three children in it. Detmer is retired now and lives on a fixed income in Johnson County. She hasn’t done any work on her house, yet she pays more in property taxes each year. The bill is rising […]
Posted inHealth
‘It will be devastating’: Providers fear what Trump’s second term could mean for federal family planning funds
In a lawsuit last year, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey argued in favor of restricting access to abortion-inducing drugs. If they aren’t restricted, he said, the state could lose federal dollars due to a lack of teen pregnancies, leading to a decline in the state’s population. Now, amid funding cuts, executive orders and layoffs for […]
Posted inState Government
Mid-term report: Kansas lawmakers prioritize culture war, squeeze social services and reject medical weed
Kansas Republicans are cracking down on social services programs, creating new crimes and rejecting proposals by Democrats. It’s the halfway point through the state legislative session and Kansas lawmakers have passed dozens of bills through the House and Senate. Some bills could fail or be significantly altered when they get to the other chamber. Other […]
Posted inState Government
Transgender Kansas Citians face growing restrictions and mounting fear
Suzanne Wheeler and her wife don’t want to leave the Kansas City area, their eight adult children and their seven grandchildren. They don’t want to walk away from their friends, their community and their support system. But they are making plans nonetheless. The middle-aged transgender couple already bought property in Portugal, where transgender rights are […]
Posted inState Government
As Missouri teens get into deadly car wrecks, a lawmaker wants to require driver’s education
You’re more likely to fail your driver’s license test in Missouri than in nearly every other state in the country.
In fact, you’re more likely to fail your test than you are to pass it.
When Missourians line up to take the written test before getting their learner’s permit, only 39% will get a passing score. Compare that to Kansas, where 76% pass the test.
One reason for such poor performance? Missouri is one of just 10 states that do not require any driver to take driver’s education classes before getting behind the wheel.
Posted inLabor
Thousands of IRS workers in Kansas City brace for layoffs amid federal government purge
On a day when dangerously cold weather forced the Internal Revenue Service to close its downtown processing center, hundreds of probationary employees are on notice that their jobs are likely going away. Following days of uncertainty for Kansas City’s federal workforce, IRS employees learned in a Feb. 18 video message that their jobs would be […]
Posted inState Government
Kansas has banned gender-affirming care for transgender minors
Kansas Republicans have finally passed a bill to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Only a lawsuit can stop the ban from becoming law. That means no puberty blockers, no hormone treatments and no gender-affirming surgeries for people until they are 18 years old. The bill also prohibits state funds from being used for the […]
Posted inState Government
‘State-sponsored child endangerment’: Advocates blast bill that they say hurts LGBTQ foster children
Kansas lawmakers are trying to strengthen religious protections for foster families looking to adopt kids. But the proposal could create what critics call “state-sponsored child endangerment” of LGBTQ youth. A bill would prevent the secretary at the Kansas Department for Children and Families from creating or enforcing policies that conflict with a foster family’s religious […]